Safety light for aquatic garments

ABSTRACT

An aquatic garment carries a safety light and circuit attached to the garment so that it may not be detached without damage. The circuit times an interval in response to change of state of an acceleration switch. The circuit causes the light to light at least once during said interval.

Applicant claims priority based on Provisional Application 60/443,861,filed on Jan. 31, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a light and control circuit therefor and tothe manner of attaching this to an aquatic garment so that the lightwill signal the presence in the water of the wearer of the garment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes a timing circuit which determines a timedinterval and controls the connection between the battery and the lightduring the timed interval. The timing circuit may be selected anddesigned to cause the light to flash ON and OFF in a predeterminedsequence during the timed interval. The circuit can also be designed sothat the light is continuously ON for a period during the timedinterval.

Preferably the light, battery and circuit elements, other than watersensing probes and their leads, are encapsulated to avoid watercontamination. Two leads connect the encapsulated circuitry to thesensing probes as hereinafter described.

Means are provided for permanently attaching the light and controlcircuit, preferably at a location where the light is exteriorly visibleover a wide range. Preferably the water sensing probes are located onthe aquatic garment to be submerged when the garment is worn in normalattitudes of the wearer.

The light and control circuit are permanently attached to the garment.

By “permanently attached” in the disclosure and claims I mean, soattached that the light and control circuit may not be detached withoutdamage to themselves or the garment.

Any light may be used but I find that a light emitting diode (‘LED’) isthe brightest and most efficient. Where a light (LED or otherwise) isreferred to herein a plurality of lights or LED's respectively may beused. Where a preferred or specific position or mounting is given for alight, one of a plurality may be in the preferred or specific positionor mounting and the remainder elsewhere.

The preferred arrangement of the light, circuitry and probes has thelight and all circuit elements, but the probes and the leads theretoencapsulated, with the light located and oriented on the garment to benormally above the water level when said garment is worn by the wearerin the water. The water sensing probes are preferably located to beimmersed in water in normal attitude when the garment is worn.

The preferred means of permanently attaching the light and controlcircuit members is to respectively pair such members with backingplates. One of the member and its backing plate is provided with a barb,the other with a socket which will receive the barb but not release it.Thus the member and the backing plate are permanently attached bypressing the barb through the garment fabric into the counterpartmember's socket. It is then permanently attached.

By ‘barb’ I include, in addition to those of conventional design, a coneor other projection having a free end shaped to penetrate fabric of thegarment, and to widen away from the free end to provide a surface orsurfaces facing away from the penetration end to resist the withdrawalof the

Alternative means of ‘permanent attachment’ includes stitching orstapling or both.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a light and control circuit for application to a lifejacket,

FIG. 2 substantially demonstrates a preferred mode of attachment of thelight and control circuit to a life jacket,

FIG. 3 shows the light and control circuit as attached to the lifejacket,

FIG. 4 shows the preferred control circuit, and

FIG. 5 shows a modification for the circuit of FIG. 4.

FIG. 1 shows the physical arrangement of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An aquatic garment 11 is shown. The light 26, in a protective lens 65,control circuit 67 (excluding the probes and fastener 54) and battery 12are encapsulated as a body 69 and attached to the shoulder near the top.The body 69 is, with backing member 50, fastened to the garment, wherethe barbs 52 projecting from backing member 50 are received in socketsin the unit 69 designed to permanently retain barbs 50. The preferredtop of shoulder location for the light 26 (see FIG. 3) makes it visibleover a wide angle.

The leads 42 preferably extend forwardly from the encapsulated body 69and down the inside of the garment and are preferably anchored in placeat a stabilizing fastener 54 fastened by a probe projecting from backingmember 56 comprising a barb 55 passing through garment 11 into a socket(not shown) in fastener 54. The leads 42 continue from fastener 54downward to a position at the bottom of the garment extending into thebacking plate 43 which mounts the water sensing probes 44 and 46. Theprobes are two narrowly spaced and are each connected to a different oneof the leads 42 and exposed for contact with the ambient water.

The backing plate 43 which forms a mounting for the water sensing probesis permanently fastened in place on the jacket fabric, preferably by theprovision of socket 62 which receives the outer ends of barb point 64extending through the garment fabric from backing member 63.

Each set of barbed points and their sockets require a small degree ofresilience to achieve their fastening action. We prefer to make materialdefining sockets and backing plates out of moldable plastic. We preferto use Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) or an acrilonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS) copolymer but most moldable plastics will do. Members 54 and 55,62 and 64 may be made of metal which may be stronger and more durable.Members 62 and 64, if metal, must of course be insulated from the probes44 and 46.

The main unit 67 preferably contains, encapsulated: the light 26,covered by a protective lens 65 and the integrated circuit and thecircuit elements shown in FIG. 4.

In the circuit 67 the circuit elements are not shown in detail in FIG.4, but merely schematically. The body 69 is arranged to hold an LED 26embedded in a lens of transparent plastic 65. Preferably the insidesurface of the transparent plastic is provided with reflecting backing(not shown) to reflect the light from the LED and the outer surface ofthe transparent plastic is shaped to deflect and cause the light toradiate over a wide angle about the LED. The battery, circuit elementsand connections therefore as shown in the schematic, are located beneaththe LED, and are all protected by the encapsulation except the two leads42 which go to the spaced probes 44 and 46 making up the water switch,and the spaced probes.

In an alternative arrangement to FIG. 3, (alternative not shown) withthe light again affixed to the shoulder and upwardly facing, leads 42are led inside the jacket and down the inside and rear (not shown) ofthe garment to a probe location normally below the water level when thejacket is worn. This is, in some alternatives the best mode of using theinvention.

In the circuit of FIG. 4 the battery 12 is connected to actuate thetiming circuit IC at the latter's terminal 4. To this end the positiveterminal of battery 12 (usually 3 volts) is connected through theemitter-collector circuit of PNP transistor 22, and acceleration switch10 to IC terminal 4. Acceleration switch 10 may be a mercury switch,ball and cylinder switch or other acceleration switch. I prefer to use aspring switch such as one of those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,764 toWUT Siu B. or U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,088 to CHIEN Tseng L.

Acceleration switches as referred to herein are understood to changestate responsive to one of either positive or negative acceleration.

The water switch comprises a gap between probes 44 and 46. When probes44 and 46 are in the water the water conducts between the probes andlowers the base of PNP transistor 18 to that of instrument ground 20.Emitter-collector conduction in transistor 18 lowers the base oftransistor 22 and thus conduction takes place through theemitter-collector of 22 from the positive of battery 12 to theacceleration switch 10. If the acceleration switch closes, when battery12 is connected thereto, terminal 4 of the integrated circuit IC iscaused to go positive, the resultant voltage change from 0–3 volts orbinary 0–1 change at terminal 4, creates SET condition in the integratedcircuit which causes pin 7 to go negative. This transition createsconduction in the emitter-collector circuit of transistor 24 whichconnects battery positive on line 71 to LED 26 to illuminate it. After atimed interval determined by the time constant of capacitor 28 andresistor 30 the integrated circuit is returned to RESET condition sothat terminal 7 returns to a positive condition and stops conduction intransistor 24 and thus turns off the LED 26. The LED will remain offuntil there is a new negative to positive transition at terminal 4.

Any other acceleration switch may be substituted for switch 10. Amercury switch may be used although some people consider themenvironmentally hazardous. Preferred is the spring switch referred toearlier. It is noted that if the acceleration switch 10 should happen tobe closed when the probes 44 and 46 are thrust in water, terminal 4 willgo positive and initiate a timing cycle in the integrated circuit andturn on the LED for the requisite time interval. Thus conduction inswitch 10 during conduction between probes 44 and 46 will initiate thetimed interval in accord with IC operation. A timed interval in progresswill not be affected by a positive transition at IC terminal 4.

If desired the simple LED 26 connected across the terminals 32–34 may bereplaced with an integrated circuit 36 with an LED 26A connected acrosscircuit 36's output at terminals 32 and 34 as shown in FIG. 5. Thus theintegrated circuit 36 may be programmed to produce a patterned flashingduring the timed interval in accord with the program in the circuit.

Resistors 38 and 40 are part of the means for operating the circuit andare well known to those skilled in the art.

Preferred values for the circuitry of FIG. 4 are as follows:

-   -   IC—INTEGRATED CIRCUIT #RR8503 MC 14528    -   24—TRANSISTOR #2N3906    -   18—TRANSISTOR #2N3906    -   22—TRANSISTOR #2N3906    -   28—CAPACITOR 0.47 uF at 30V    -   12—BATTERY 3 V    -   26—LIGHT SOURCE (LED)    -   10—SWITCH (SPRING)    -   30—RESISTOR 1 MEGOHM ⅛ w    -   38—RESISTOR 1 MEGOHM ⅛ w    -   40—RESISTOR 1 MEGOHM ⅛ w

The acceleration switch may be mercury, if there are no environmentalobjections. Another motion responsive switch may be used if desired—suchas a reed switch as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,628 or a roller switchas shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,422 or the preferred spring switchpreviously referred to.

The circuit as shown in FIG. 4 will give a constant light for theduration of conduction in transistor 26 as determined by the RCconstants 30 and 28.

However if it is preferred to have a flashing light to a steady light, asuitable circuit such as 36 shown in FIG. 5 may be connected acrossterminals 32 and 34 instead of the LED 26 of FIG. 2. With chip 36connected across terminals 32 and 34 the output of chip 36 is connectedacross LED 26A and causes the LED 26A to flash in accord with the chipprogramming for the illumination interval, that here coincides with theduration of conduction in transistor 24.

Either LED 26 or 26A may be replaced by two or more LED's. MultipleLED's may be switched on and off and display a pattern or patternsdetermined by the chip.

The chip 36 is preferably a dedicated chip and may be obtained from HuaKo Electronics Co. Ltd., 9 Dai Shen Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate,Tai Po N.T., Hong Kong.

The light does not have to be an LED although LED's are believed to bethe most efficient and long lasting and operate well on the 3 volt powersource proposed. A larger battery or multiple batteries may be used ifneeded to power up the light source or for longer life.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 4 the timed interval is normally initiatedby the closing of the acceleration switch. However it is equallypossible, with the invention to use a circuit where the timed intervalstarts with the opening of an acceleration switch.

The latter mode of operation is well known and an example is shown inU.S. Pat. No. 5,903,103 to M. C. Garner. In Garner the circuit fordetecting the opening of the acceleration switch can be in the form of aresistor-capacitor circuit differentiation which produces spikes ofvoltage whose polarity depends on whether the switch is being opened orclosed. A peak detector then senses the polarity of the signal from thedifferentiation and triggers the light or intermittent or sequentialflashing circuit and, in the example given, when the signal indicatesswitch opening. With a circuit which is triggered by acceleration switchopening, as in the circuit of Garner, the water switch probes and theassociated circuitry and transistors may not be in series with theacceleration switch because if the probes were in the water, taking theprobes out of the water might be mistaken by the circuit for the openingof the acceleration switch. Thus, with a circuit which triggers theillumination on switch opening, the probes and associated transistorsand circuitry must control the light from another location, a choiceavailable to those skilled in the art. With the latter mode ofoperation, the probes are however located to be normally in the waterwhen the garment is worn; and connected to prevent illumination when outof the water.

Other circuits for timing an interval responsive to an accelerationswitch change of state may be used instead of the circuit of FIG. 4.Such circuits preferably will ignore a change of state occurring duringan interval in progress.

With the garment worn by the wearer in the water, his presence isevidenced by the light which should flash under ordinary wave motioneven if the wearer is otherwise still or unconscious.

In another application of the invention, a group of swimmers equippedwith some form of the invention may have lights of different colors sothat they may be identified from a distance. As well as different colorsthe lights of a group of swimmers could be individually programmed toflash different signals, i.e. a long and a short flash for one and ashort and two long flashes for another, and so on.

It will be noted that the encapsulated light and battery is worn by aperson who is under the water the light will flash showing the locationof the swimmer to anyone searching for him.

If desired the method of attaching the unit and water switch to theaquatic garment by barbed members may be replaced with other means ofpermanent attachment which may include sewing and stapling.

The circuitry operated by the water switch may be adjusted to take intoaccount changes from fresh to salt water.

1. A circuit for attachment to an aquatic garment comprising a light, abattery, at least one water-sensing probe, an acceleration responsiveswitch having an open and closed states timing means, said circuit beingpermanently attached to an aquatic garment with said light beingexteriorly visible, and where said probes are attached to a part of theaquatic garment that is normally immersed in water when the aquaticgarment is worn in water, means responsive to a change of state of theswitch when there is water sensed by said at least one water-sensingprobe to initiate operation of said timing means.
 2. The circuit asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said light is located on said aquaticgarment so as to be visible above the surface of the water when saidaquatic garment is in the normal attitude of a wearer in the water. 3.The circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said light, battery andacceleration responsive switch are encapsulated.
 4. The circuit asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said light is an LED.
 5. The circuit asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the circuit is permanently attached to saidaquatic garment by means of a backing member comprising barbs adapted tobe received in sockets in said encapsulating body, said sockets beingadapted to permanently retain said barbs.
 6. An aquatic garmentcomprising an upper shoulder portion, a light for mounting upwardlyfacing and on the outside of said upper shoulder portion, a battery forenergizing said light, a timing circuit for controlling the energizationof said light, an acceleration responsive switch, said timing circuitbeing responsive to a change of state of said switch to time aninterval, means encapsulating said light, battery, switch and timingcircuit, and means for attaching said encapsulated elements permanentlyto said aquatic garment.
 7. The aquatic garment as claimed in claim 6,having at least one water-sensing probe operable to initiate operationof said circuit if said probe is immersed in water.
 8. The aquaticgarment claimed in claim 6, wherein said light is an LED.
 9. The circuitas claimed in claim 7, wherein said probe is mounted to be below waterlevel in the normal attitude of a wearer in the water.
 10. The aquaticgarment as claimed in claim 6, wherein said means for attaching saidencapsulated elements permanently to said upper shoulder portion of saidaquatic garment includes a backing member having barbs adapted to bereceived in sockets in said encapsulating body, said sockets beingadapted to permanently retain said barbs.
 11. A safety light apparatusfor an aquatic garment comprising: a light source; a battery; a circuithaving a timing means for timing an interval during which the lightsource is activated; an acceleration responsive switch being responsiveto movement of said aquatic garment to perform transitions betweendisconnected and connected states where the acceleration responsiveswitch respectively disconnects and connects said battery to saidcircuit; and at least one water-sensing probe; wherein the circuit, theacceleration responsive switch and the water-sensing probe are linkedtogether such that: (a) when the water-sensing probe is immersed inwater and the acceleration responsive switch makes the transition fromdisconnected to connected states, the circuit is operable to connectsaid battery and said light source thereby causing said light source toactivate; and (b) after the duration of the interval the circuit isoperable to disconnect said battery and said light source therebycausing said light source to deactivate.
 12. The safety light apparatusas claimed in claim 11, wherein said light source, said battery, saidcircuit and said acceleration responsive switch are permanently attachedto said aquatic garment.
 13. The safety light apparatus as claimed inclaim 12, wherein said aquatic garment defines a shoulder portion, andwherein said light source is located on said shoulder portion such thatthe light source is visible above the level of the water and behind andin front of a wearer of said aquatic garment at a normal attitude. 14.The safety light apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein saidwater-sensing probe is permanently attached to said aquatic garment andis connected to said circuit by at least one lead that is permanentlyattached to said aquatic garment by at least one stabilizing fastener,wherein said lead is disposed substantially internally within saidaquatic garment.
 15. The safety light apparatus as claimed in claim 14,wherein said aquatic garment defines a bottom portion, and wherein saidwater-sensing probe is located on said bottom portion such that saidwater-sensing probe is below the level of the water when said aquaticgarment is worn by a wearer in the water at a normal attitude.
 16. Thesafety light apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said lightsource, said battery, said circuit and said acceleration responsiveswitch are encapsulated in an enclosure that is substantially imperviousto water.
 17. The safety light apparatus as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid light source is an LED.
 18. The safety light apparatus as claimedin claim 16, wherein said enclosure is permanently attached to saidaquatic garment by means of a backing member including barbs adapted tobe received in sockets in said encapsulating body, said sockets adaptedto permanently retain said barbs.
 19. The safety light apparatus asclaimed in claim 17, wherein said enclosure is permanently attached tosaid aquatic garment by means of a backing member comprising barbsadapted to be received in sockets in said encapsulating body, saidsockets adapted to permanently retain said barbs.
 20. A safety lightapparatus for an aquatic garment comprising: an enclosure containing alight source, a battery, a timing circuit and an acceleration responsiveswitch; at least one water-sensing probe; and leads leads locatedinternally within said aquatic garment and attached by at least onestabilizing fastener; wherein said enclosure is located on a shoulderportion of said aquatic garment and permanently attached therein;wherein said probes are located on a bottom portion of said aquaticgarment and permanently attached therein and connected to said enclosureby said leads; and wherein said light source, said battery, said timingcircuit, said acceleration responsive switch and said probes are linkedtogether such that: (a) when the probes are immersed in water and theacceleration responsive switch is closed, the timing circuit connectssaid battery and said light source thereby causing said light source toactivate for a pre-determined interval; and (b) after the duration ofthe interval, the circuit disconnects said battery and said light sourcethereby causing said light source to deactivate.
 21. A safety life vestcomprising a light, a motion-responsive switch, a timing circuit, abattery and two spaced apart water-sensing probes exposed for contactwith water, wherein said light, said motion-responsive switch, saidcircuit and said battery are encapsulated in an enclosure andpermanently attached on an upward location on the vest, wherein saidprobes are permanently attached on a downward location on the vest andconnected to said enclosure by leads, and said leads are disposedinternally within the said life vest, wherein said motion-responsiveswitch and said timing circuit are operable when said probes areimmersed in water to connect said battery and said light so that inresponse to motion said light turns on for a timed interval.